He’s My Real Brother, Duke Chapter 150

“Yes. The only people allowed to handle the imperial treasures are the Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince. I knew there were only three of them. That’s why I left a lot of hints for the Empress.”

 

To be more precise, she mentioned that there were many healers in the Crown Prince’s palace, and she cut off the medicine sent to the Empress to make her impatient.

 

With the palace closed to the public due to an imperial decree, it would be impossible to find a healer.

 

It was obvious that she would use a secret passage to enter the Crown Prince’s palace.

 

Surely it was only natural that she would find out about the Crown Prince’s plans.

 

If she knew the true nature of the plot, she would do everything in her power to thwart the Crown Prince’s scheme.

‘All I knew was that the final weapon was the imperial treasure, so I had no choice but to use the Empress.’ 

 

In a way, I was gambling on the Empress and the Crown Prince’s hearts and minds, and it paid off.

 

I lifted my chin and added haughtily, “Alright, I think I’m pretty cool!”

 

My brother grabbed my hand and shook it enthusiastically.

 

“You’re smart, genius.”

 

Then, out of nowhere, he ruffled my hair. I smiled wryly at the overly intimate contact.

 

I’ve answered my brother’s questions, and we’ve cleared the air between us.

 

At this point, I’d call it a successful reunion.

 

‘Come to think of it, there’s something off about this.’ 

 

As I pulled my hand away from his, I suddenly realized that things were not quite right.

 

‘Weirdly, I’m in the middle of an intimate conversation with my brother, and he’s holding my hand, and Knox hasn’t said anything.’

 

That was it. Knox was strangely quiet now.

 

Then my brother pointed out in a stern tone.

 

“Focus on our conversation.”

 

Knox looked at me, pursed his lips, and stopped at my brother’s words.

 

As usual, he should be giving his usual, ‘Shut up Lord Cassian,’ attitude.

 

Strangely, today it looked lifeless, like a puppy caught in the rain.

 

It was a very delicate situation indeed.

 

“…By the way, you two seem a little, um…”

 

And just as I was about to say, ‘That’s weird.’

 

A thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

 

‘I had forgotten until now, but my brother’s hair is blond now isn’t it?’ 

 

As if the concealment spell had been broken…

 

Panicked, I looked down at my wrist.

 

But as usual, the magic circle that was supposed to be engraved on my wrist was gone.

 

There was no sign of it, not even a trace.

 

Only then did I realize. Knox had figured it out. That me and Lord Cassian Gray are related!

 

“Have you told him about our relationship…?”

 

My hesitant words were met with a chilling silence.

 

My brother, rabbit-eyed and surprised, as I expected, replied meekly.

 

“Yes, I told him, I thought you were dead…”

 

“…You’re so stupid!”

 

My brother scratched the back of his head, as if he had nothing to say in response to my mild exasperation. 

 

I clasped my hands together in front of me and stared at Knox again. 

 

Even though it was magic, my behavior could be considered deceitful to him.

 

“I… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you until now.”

 

“It’s okay.”

 

Knox and I stared at each other for a moment, awkwardly, but not uncomfortably, laughing.

 

But then my brother broke the moment, grumbling.

 

“Of course it’s okay, it’s just that you couldn’t tell him because of the spell of concealment.”

 

There was a hint of anger in his eyes. I hastily defused the potentially catastrophic situation again.

 

“There’s a restriction in the spell that says we can’t tell anyone we’re siblings, so… that’s why I didn’t tell anyone beforehand.”

 

I took a deep breath. I was about to add that we were also from House Vietry, but my brother, who was quick as a flash, cut me off like a knife.

 

“That’s enough. We’ll save the other secrets for later.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because that secret will come out when it matters most.”

 

“But the Duke will know…”

 

“Shh, let’s keep it between us for now.”

 

My brother shrugged his shoulders in a somewhat grumpy manner, as if to keep Knox in check. 

 

Knox listened to the two of us silently, wondering what the ‘secret’ was, but then nodded.

 

“I see Astel. I understand if you couldn’t tell me because it’s hard for you to hide.”

 

So thoughtful…

 

…however, my brother’s demeanor was different.

 

He scowled at Knox, as if he disapproved of him.

 

“Aren’t you just pretending to understand?”

 

I watched nervously, expecting an argument to start. But Knox’s demeanor was unchanged.

 

“I don’t think so, Lord Gray. How can I assure you of my sincerity?”

 

He even smiled at my brother. It was a knowing kind of smile. 

 

Thinking the mood had lightened, I tried to smile back, but he waved me off.

 

“No need.”

 

‘Is my brother a sweet potato?’

 

My brother seems to have forgotten that, while Knox may be a bit soft, he remains the Duke of this Empire.

 

Disrespecting a Duke was punishable by summary execution, and he flicked a rather haughty tilt of his head and gave a short answer.

 

Knox’s throat tightened. But he whispered softly.

 

“I’ll prove my sincerity any time Lord Cassian Gray wants me to, just say the word.”

 

“Haha… I can’t believe you would take such a chance on me, an ugly, scruffy little thing.”

 

…He pouted, sulked, snapped.

 

At that moment, I felt it perfectly. I realized that the whole relationship between them had been turned upside down.

 

As the strange vertical relationship and confrontation between them continued, I pulled out a trick.

 

“Is Rune in the room?”

 

“Yes!”

 

And with that, I showed him Rune. I’d had quite the ordeal getting to this room, and so had he, everyone in the Duke’s mansion thought I was dead and was preparing for the ceremony.

 

As soon as they saw that I was alive and well, they froze some maids in their tracks, saying, ‘Surely you’re dead, how can you be resurrected…!’ 

 

I calmed them down and asked around, and was told that Rune was playing in a small room in the mansion. The maids had converted a small room into a playroom.

 

The three of us walked briskly after learning of Rune’s whereabouts. 

 

With Knox leading the way, as he knew the manor’s geography best, we arrived at the door of the playroom, which was painted with a colorful and cute baby fox.

 

But we didn’t open it right away. My brother was fidgeting, rubbing his palms together and clenching and unclenching his fists as if his hands were sweating.

 

I felt like I was watching Jekyll and Hyde as he racked his brain, saying I should have brought a toy with jewels. 

 

But it was the day he told his son he was his dad for the first time.

 

Instead, I gazed longingly at my brother and patted him on the shoulder.

 

“Whatever you get him, he’s going to love it, now I’m going to open the door for real.”

 

“Wait, hold on!”

 

But being the impetuous person that I am, I pretended not to hear my brother’s protests and flung the door open.

 

With a loud bang, the door opened.

 

“Aah…”

 

I could hear my brother sighing, but I knew I couldn’t just stand around waiting for this visit all day.

 

But it wasn’t Rune who greeted me at the door of the playroom.

 

After so many years of living as a commoner, I had imagined that there would be only one room…

 

This place was two rooms.

 

One room that you see as soon as you open the door, and another room that opens through an interior archway.

 

In the first room, Belle stood alone, unattended, clutching a book.

 

“Belle?”

 

Sniffling, clutching a large book tightly in his arms, Belle’s eyes widened as he looked up at me.

 

“Astel!”

 

Belle exclaimed, dropping the book to the floor and running over to me, hugging me tightly.

 

“You’re alive!”

 

Belle embraced me so hard, that I thought my stomach would burst.

 

Stroking Belle’s hair, I asked playfully, “Actually, I’m a ghost.”

 

My brother flinched, as if stung that I had called myself a ghost the first time he saw me.

 

Belle shook his head and buried his face in the hem of my skirt.

 

After burying his head in my skirt until his tears stained the white skirt and made it transparent, he said cautiously.

 

“It’s not a ghost! No, you’re dead, and you’re alive again! Astel, you’re resurrected…”

 

“Huh?”

 

“It must be the hamster god, I knew he’d come back!”

 

“… What, suddenly, hamster?”

 

Belle buried his face in his hands, as if embarrassed.

 

Then he scurried off to get the book.

 

Dumbfounded, I glanced at Knox and my brother. But they didn’t seem to know what Belle was thinking.

 

“Because the Hamster God can die and come back to life!”

 

In Belle’s arms was the Complete Mythology of the Great Beast.

 

Belle excitedly flipped open the bookmarked section of the mythology and showed them.

 

“Look! The butler brought me this book!”

 

「The Death of the Giant Hamster Beast!

 

A group of ten tiny little hamsters gathered to perform a resurrection ritual for their god.

 

And so, the giant hamster beast, who was supposed to be dead, was resurrected!」

 

The paper on which the sentence was written was crinkly, and the word ‘resurrection’ was starred in red pen.

 

It was a testament to the fervor of Belle’s prayers.

 

“I prayed over this, and Astel came back to life!”

 

Heartened, I nodded in agreement, agreeing with Belle’s conclusion.

 

“That’s right, yeah, I guess…”

 

I looked down at the myth of the hamster god’s resurrection and thought wistfully.

 

‘What’s the point of this, a hamster god or a tiger god or something?’ 

 

Unbeknownst to me, Belle’s eyes lit up and folded the spine of the book tightly.

 

“It’s really resurrected!”

 

Judging by the twinkle in his eye, he must have believed I was actually a god.

 

I awkwardly reached out and pulled Belle into a hug.

 

“Okay, I’m alive, so why did you cry?”

 

“No, I didn’t cry, the male beast said we don’t cry even when we’re buried!”

 

To say he hadn’t cried was a bit of a stretch, but his eyes were puffy…

 

I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

“I see, Belle, you seem like a very cool grown-up!”

 

Belle beamed with pride, “That’s right, I was playing with the baby like a grown-up! Astel, are you here to see the baby with Belle?”

 

“Yep.”

 

Astel was so engrossed in her emotional encounter with Belle the baby fox that she didn’t notice her brother fidgeting and muttering to himself.

 

‘I think it’s time to send him off to Rune.’ 

 

I stared at my brother, who was flustered, then spoke up cautiously.

 

“Uncle here says he misses Rune.”

 

“Mister, Rune is in his room over there, he just wanted to be alone for a minute!”

 

A three-year-old wants to be alone…

 

‘I guess Belle and Rune are geniuses after all…’ 

 

My eyes darted toward my brother.

 

According to Belle, Rune would be beyond the archway.

 

Patting Belle’s hair as he nodded, I turned to my brother.

 

“You go on in. I’ll stay with Belle.”

 

There was no way I was going to interrupt a father-and-son reunion.

 

Pushing my brother’s back as he hesitated to move his feet, I said brightly.

 

“Come on.”

 

“Okay.”

 

He took a deep breath and looked determined. It was finally time for Rune and my brother to face each other.

 

My hands were sweating with nervousness.

 

Before heading to the archway, his icy gaze rested on Knox, who stood as still as a tombstone.

 

“You two need to stay away from each other until I get back.”

 

“…Huh?”

 

“I’ll be right back, Astel.”

 

My brother, who looked as if he’d just gotten a stern look on his face, smiled broadly and walked into Rune’s room. I squinted at Knox warily.

 

His shoulders seemed slumped, a little… drooping.